Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Florida

Bakeries and dessert shops in Lee County, FL

The bakeries and dessert shops in Lee County, FL, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 67 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #349 of 1,889 scored counties
#25 of 53 scored counties in Florida

Listings
291
113 chain locations (39%)
Official establishments
146
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +49.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.3B
On food away from home · $3,845 a household
Spending per listing
$4.3M
5% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.9
9% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
875,607
+14.4% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Lee County

The site report maps the bakeries and dessert shops on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Lee County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Households in Lee County spend about $1.3B a year on food away from home, or $3,845 per household, 6% below the U.S. average. That is about $4.3M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 5% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

There are 291 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in Lee County as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 39% of them, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.9, 9% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 146 businesses with payroll in Lee County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 49.0% from 2019. That is one for every 2,245 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Another 37 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 10 SBA-backed loans worth $7.4M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Lee County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Lee County grew 14.4%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in Lee County is 67 (upper middle), #349 of 1,889 scored counties and #25 of 53 scored counties in Florida. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Lee County compares

The same measures for Florida and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the bakeries and dessert shops counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Bakeries and dessert shops in Lee County, FL compared with Florida and the U.S.
MeasureLee CountyFloridaU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.99.99.8
Spending per listing$4.3M$3.9M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)2,2451,7431,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+49.0%+34.5%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+14.4%+8.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,845$3,841$4,070
Median household income$76,107$74,568$80,734
Groundwork market score6755

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
98 → 146All snack bars and retail bakeries · +49.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,980
Annual payroll, 2023
$37.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
37All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
291113 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
304The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
10
Amount
$7.4M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Lee County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3. These official figures cover all snack bars and retail bakeries, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

Population and households in Lee County

Population, 2025 estimate
875,607+14.4% since 2020
Households
327,803
Median age
48.0
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
781 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,047
Median household income
$76,107+31.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$106,469
Median home value
$362,200
Jobs located here
293,056
Daytime population
793,827Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Lee County?

These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the bakeries and dessert shops on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Lee County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Bakeries and dessert shops across Florida

Every Florida market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Florida for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Florida, with Lee County marked.

Top counties in Florida

Counties in Florida ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sumter County, FL91243.4$11M+21.1%#11 of 1,889
2Wakulla County, FL8764.7$8.1M+12.3%#30 of 1,889
3Flagler County, FL85295.5$7M+21.0%#49 of 1,889
4Santa Rosa County, FL85506.9$6.1M+11.7%#53 of 1,889
5Nassau County, FL81328.1$5.1M+17.4%#81 of 1,889
6Suwannee County, FL7753.1$10.3M+10.6%#122 of 1,889
7Lake County, FL771096.6$5.6M+18.1%#131 of 1,889
8Citrus County, FL76385.3$6.1M+11.1%#145 of 1,889
9Clay County, FL76607.2$5.6M+9.4%#148 of 1,889
10Charlotte County, FL76596.5$5.5M+15.5%#149 of 1,889
25Lee County, FL672918.9$4.3M+14.4%#349 of 1,889

Other business types in Lee County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Lee County, FL?

As of September 2026, map listings count 291 bakeries and dessert shops in Lee County. 113 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 146 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 49.0% from 2019. The official count takes in all snack bars and retail bakeries, not only bakeries and dessert shops: coffee shops and cafes are counted too. Official counts list 37 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Lee County, FL spend on food away from home?

About $1.3B a year, or $3,845 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 291 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.3M per shop. That spending covers all food away from home, which bakeries and dessert shops share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 327,803 households in Lee County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Lee County, FL compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

Lee County has 8.9 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.3M, 5% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Lee County would have about 304, against 291 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,245 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 49.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is Lee County, FL growing?

Population estimates put Lee County at 875,607 people in 2025, up 14.4% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 327,803 households. The median household income in Lee County is $76,107 a year, 6% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.6% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Lee County scores 67 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #349 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Lee County. It maps the bakeries and dessert shops on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for bakeries and dessert shops · All 56 business types in Lee County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Lee County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of Lee County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.